Franklin County deputy accused of fondling female inmate resigns, records show
A Franklin County Sheriff's deputy resigned in January after an adult female inmate alleged that he sexually assaulted her, prompting an internal investigation.
Andrew Litteral, 39, a deputy sheriff for about 8½ years, resigned Jan. 4, according to records from the sheriff's office.
Records from the Delaware County Sheriff's office, where Litteral worked as a corrections officer before coming to Franklin County, show that he was previously accused of improper conduct toward a female inmate.
No criminal charges had been filed against Litteral as of late Thursday afternoon, according to Franklin County court records. The sheriff's office said Tuesday there was no current or active criminal investigation into Litteral's conduct.
The most recent investigation into Litteral's conduct began in late December after the sheriff's office received a complaint from an adult female inmate at the jail, according to documents provided to The Dispatch.
The woman said that weeks earlier, on Nov. 16, she was transfered from the county jail on Jackson Pike to OhioHealth Grant Medical Center for an undisclosed medical issue. Litteral and another deputy were with the inmate while she was evaluated and received treatment at the hospital, which is standard procedure.
Documents provided to The Dispatch indicate that soon after she returned to the jail, the inmate told a jail supervisor that Litteral had fondled her, and told her that if she did not allow him to do so, "she would get in trouble."
The inmate also told the supervisor that Litteral "told her he has always wanted to have sex with an inmate" while providing other details about his personal life, including that "he had a vasectomy so he could have sex with her and she would not get pregnant."
The sheriff's office redacted the names of the supervisors who interviewed the inmate from the documents given to The Dispatch. Those documents say one of the supervisors interviewed Litteral, but anything he may have said is redacted.
The inmate's report was forwarded through the chain of command at the sheriff's office, according to the documents. On Dec. 8, which was 23 days after the incident was alleged to have occurred, Litteral was placed on "no inmate contact" status.
The sheriff's department's internal affairs unit received the complaint on Dec. 21, according to the documents, and an official investigation was authorized on Jan. 3.
Litteral received office notice of the internal investigation, and the specific complaint against him, on Jan. 3. The notice to Litteral stated that, "there may be other instances of misconduct on your part as a result of the hospital watch."
Litteral resigned the next day, effective immediately, citing "personal reasons," documents indicate. The Franklin County Sheriff's Office closed its internal investigation as a result of Litteral's resignation. The Ohio Attorney General's website lists Litteral's resignation as occurring while he was under investigation.
Litteral's first full-time job as a deputy came in Franklin County in June 2015. He previously worked for Mount Gilead police as an auxiliary officer for 10 months, and as a corrections officer for the Delaware County Sheriff's office, according to records from the state Attorney General's office.
The Delaware County Sheriff's office provided documents to The Dispatch showing Litteral received documented verbal counseling in 2013. The reason for the counseling was described as "inappropriate use of cameras with a female inmate" that occurred while he was working in the control room, according to the documents.
Additional details about the incident were not available from Delaware County.
Mount Gilead police said Litteral resigned from that department in good standing and had no disciplinary issues while working there.
Chief Deputy Geoff Stobart, who oversees the jail operations for the Franklin County Sheriff's office, was contacted twice by The Dispach with questions about how Litteral ended up alone with the female inmate and whether any changes had been put in place as a result of the allegations against Litteral. Stobart did not respond to the request for comment.
The Dispatch reached out on a phone number connected to Litteral on Tuesday morning, but was told he was not available for comment at that time.
bbruner@dispatch.com
@bethany_bruner
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Franklin County deputy accused of fondling inmate resigns, report says
